Do you know your pets so well you could create a comic from their point of view? Sarah does. The 25-year-old from Texas has two birds: a sweet but birdbrained cockatiel, Chicken, and a tiny but bossy parrotlet, Blue Boy, and she dedicated an entire comic series to them.
"[The stories are generally told] from Chicken's perspective with humans mostly off-screen, hence 'Chicken Thoughts,'" Sarah told Bored Panda. "I love how intelligent birds are but also how illogical they can be -- I'm sure we're the same way!"
Most of the strips were inspired by real-life pet behaviors, and are often thought up when Sarah's birds do something funny. "One thing that makes the series special is I draw comics about some of my readers' birds too, and have them on as guest stars! People will tell me a little bit about their birds and I come up with comics about them, drawn in my googly-eye style."
Sarah makes comics because she is a big fan of comedy and memes, and you can certainly get that from her works. They're lighthearted and self-aware. However, the comics aren't shallow at all. On the contrary; they perfectly capture all the nuances of living with companion parrots and their behavior. Continue scrolling and check them out.
Image credits: chickynugs
Image credits: chickynugs
Image credits: chickynugs
Image credits: chickynugs
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There's even a book! Chicken Thoughts: Comics About Birds will come out on the 1st of November, 2020 but is already available to pre-order. And Sarah has definitely worked long and hard to get to this point. "I've drawn comics for my friends at least since I was 11 years old," the self-taught artist said. "My best friend Jacky and I were in a lot of the same grade school classes, and we would draw cartoons about ourselves and our classmates and show each other. My earliest influence was Calvin and Hobbes, I would read my mom's collections as a child." Now, Sarah is also a fan of other bird cartoonists like Potatopato, A Budgie's Life, and It's A Birb Thing. She also loves animals and thinks they are much more like us than we realize.
Sarah hopes that people who don't have birds can still enjoy her comics, and maybe learn to appreciate birds, too. She definitely does. Besides Chicken and Blue Boy, she has also had another parrotlet, White Boy, who makes rare appearances in the series.
"A lot of people wonder why the cartoon Chicken is a lutino male while the real-life Chicken is a grey female. That's because I just drew the first comic as a one-off about cockatiels in general and posted it in a Facebook bird group. It was such a hit that people asked me to make a page and post more! So the comic Chicken became based on my real-life bird, Chicken."
She said her real birds act much like their comic personas. "They are allowed to roam around the apartment every day, and they mostly like to hang around me and my boyfriend preening, asking for food, and receiving head scritches."
Another thing that's really cool about Chicken Thoughts is how tight-knit the fans of the series are. They're a true community. Last year, for example, the readers of the comic raised $2,500 to help care for a disabled rescue cockatiel. And the critter is simply thriving today! They also raised an additional $1,000 for My Best Friends Animal Society.
I don’t normally have favorites, but I highly recommend the birb shredder! 📃🕊
my carpet's magical in that you dont know WHAT KIND of life it sustains...
I actually wish my birds were like this. 😢 They hate it, which is depressing because I wanna pet them. 😫
My kitten has feline pica and seems to fixate on metal, biting rings is a one of her pastimes. However, the other day I found out she had manage to scale a 5ft high chest of drawers and steal a silver necklace. The first I saw it she was bounding over my bed with the necklace carried nicely between her teeth. We're hoping it's behavioral and it's just a phase!
I LOVE ducks and geese. I'm obsessed with them. They're so pretty and cute
Yes, bird feet is adorable. If you haven’t seen one, you’re missing out on life. 🐦 🦶
You should’ve seen mine. They bit it (I think it was sour) and flew away in absolute fright. 😅
"Themslves" :D my spirit animal But, is the onion part of the joke, or is it dangerous?
My husband calls this flared wing strut the "mighty eagle". They think they're so intimidating when the do this. 🤣
When birdies get new feathers they're called "pins" they are called this because the feather is encased in a sheath that is made from karatin. (same as our nails and hair) but they are sharp and have a blood supply at this stage. If you rub them the wrong way they poke (like pins) and hurt the bird. In the wild they get each other to groom and "pop" them by breaking the casing open to let the feather un-ravel. But if you try as a human to do it too soon they scream or will bite. You have to wait until they're longer to do it and then it relieves the pressure basically (like teething). They can take care of their body pins because they can reach them, but the head and neck is a rough go for a while. Some of my birds will let me do it and some of my birds will let my kids do it but not me lol.
Load More Replies...I'm a fan of ChickenThoughts and happy to see it found its way here! Very cute and wholesome reflections of bird life. Keep them coming!
A very nice pendant to yesterday post about Jenny Jinia's last comic (not that it was bad, just very sad).
Absolutely, this was a lovely comic. As an animal lover the last one with birds was just too sad x
Load More Replies...All true! Also fact: sunflower seeds are not good for your psittacine birds (hook bilked parrot types) they are high in fat and nothing else. The birds will always choose them over more nutritional foods. It's like giving your kid candy every meal, in the long run can cause many health problems.
This is funny. I can relate to a lot of these birds. I’ve lived with cockatiles most of my life. They are so cute and funny 😂❤️
I can absolutely relate to this i have 13 parakeets 2 cockatiels 2 love birds so im very experienced with this XD.
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I'm a fan of ChickenThoughts and happy to see it found its way here! Very cute and wholesome reflections of bird life. Keep them coming!
A very nice pendant to yesterday post about Jenny Jinia's last comic (not that it was bad, just very sad).
Absolutely, this was a lovely comic. As an animal lover the last one with birds was just too sad x
Load More Replies...All true! Also fact: sunflower seeds are not good for your psittacine birds (hook bilked parrot types) they are high in fat and nothing else. The birds will always choose them over more nutritional foods. It's like giving your kid candy every meal, in the long run can cause many health problems.
This is funny. I can relate to a lot of these birds. I’ve lived with cockatiles most of my life. They are so cute and funny 😂❤️
I can absolutely relate to this i have 13 parakeets 2 cockatiels 2 love birds so im very experienced with this XD.
EWOIDSLK EWOIDSLKEOWIDLSK OEIWODIS LKEOWIDLSK ROEIOFIDLFEROEID OIEWDS